Division leaders change in prep football media poll

Losses to top teams paved the way for two divisions to have new leaders with the release of the Northern Section Prep Football Media Poll today.

West Valley's 31-7 home loss to Central Valley dropped the Eagles to second in Division II, settling the battle for first with Sutter. The Huskies remain unbeaten and hold the No. 1 spot unanimously.

Redding Christian was the other team to capture the No. 1 spot in Division VI (8-man) after Butte Valley dropped a 47-21 decision to Dunsmuir. Redding Christian edges Dunsmuir by one first-place vote and one point overall at 50-49. It's the first time the Lions have been voted No. 1 in school history.

Division I had no change to its rankings but it is a little clearer after Paradise beat Enterprise 42-41 in overtime. The Bobcats stayed as the unanimous No. 1 while the close road loss kept the Hornets (44) second. Foothill (28) is third, Chico (25) fourth and Shasta (13) fifth.

With Sutter taking hold of Division II, West Valley is second and Central Valley, despite a losing record, moved into the rankings to third with 30 points. Yreka (21) and Orland (20) both dropped a spot and are fourth and fifth, respectively.

The order of the Division III teams did not change, with Pierce still the clear favorite. Trinity's big win over division foe Durham solidified its spot in the No. 2 spot. East Nicolaus (24), Modoc (23) and Willows (17) round out the division.

Portola has all 11 first-place votes in Division IV, followed by undefeated Chester (44). Burney (29) is a distant third followed by Maxwell (26) and Biggs (10).

In Division VI, Butte Valley (32) dropped out of the top spot for the first time this year to third while Loyalton (21), which is ahead of the California 8-man South, is fourth. Tulelake (10) is fifth.

Voting is done by sports writers from the Record Searchlight, Chico Enterprise-Record, Appeal-Democrat, MaxPreps, KNRO-1670 Fox Sports Radio and KHSL-TV. First-place votes are in parentheses, followed by record, voting points and previous week ranking.